Online Reporter
Diana Nherera
COPACABANA and Gulf Complex in Harare’s central business district have been identified as some of the areas where illicit drugs are being sold, amid growing calls for stronger interventions to combat substance abuse in the capital.
Permanent Secretary for Harare Metropolitan Province, Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Dr Shingirayi Mushamba, said authorities need a deeper understanding of the drug abuse problem, including the substances being sold, those involved in distribution, the age groups affected and the factors driving drug use.
Dr Mushamba said this at a stakeholders meeting on drug and substance abuse that was convened by the Harare Metropolitan Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Senator Charles Tawengwa on Wednesday.
Dr Mushamba said some drugs were being openly sold in the city, including pills disguised in fruit boxes and marketed to both young people and adults.
He said efforts to address the challenge must go beyond focusing on commonly known substances and seek to uncover the full extent of the problem.
“When we talk about drugs, I have a very strong feeling that there are people who think what they are doing is not drug abuse and that the problem only happens next door,” he said.
“I want us to be in the midst of the challenge ourselves and ask which drugs are being sold, where, by whom and at what time. Let us identify them.
“Of course, we often focus on the usual cough syrups, but there are other hidden issues. The more we ignore them, the more we do an injustice to ourselves.”
Dr Mushamba said understanding the drivers of drug uptake among different age groups and identifying substances commonly abused by adults would help stakeholders craft more effective and targeted interventions.
“What are the drivers of drug uptake? Which age groups are most affected? Among adults, which drugs are being abused and why? Once we understand the phenomenon fully, we can begin to propose solutions that truly work,” he said.
Meanwhile, Harare City Council’s Mental Health Coordinator Mr Ray Moyo, who represented the city’s Provincial Mental Health Officer Ms Zephania Chikudu, called for greater attention to the role of legal alcohol in substance abuse.
He described alcohol as a gateway substance and urged authorities to regulate the proliferation of liquor outlets across the city.
“Look at how bottle stores are sprouting everywhere in town. Every corner has a bar. They may have liquor licences, but that is where it starts,” said Mr Moyo.
“There is a need to limit the number of liquor licences. Some bars open as early as 7 am and only close around 2 am.”
Other stakeholders at the meeting expressed concern that several areas where drugs are allegedly sold and consumed, including informal drinking spots and shebeens, remain largely unmonitored by authorities.
The calls come as the Government and various stakeholders intensify efforts to combat drug and substance abuse, which has emerged as a major public health and social challenge affecting communities across the country.
As long as we don’t arrest drug peddlers and users alike, we are going nowhere very fast. We are taking druggists as patients and distributors as criminals yet in order to stamp out drugs we should eliminate the market. In this country, we do the reverse. Those who take drugs should be rehabilitated and thrown back into society.